The previously unreleased photos were not seen by the public, but the NFL viewed many of them earlier this year during an investigation into the allegations against Hardy, who was arrested May 13, 2014.

Hardy allegedly assaulted and threatened his then-girlfriend, Holder, at his North Carolina apartment. Ina terrifying statement, Holder describes the attack:

I tried to get up, he pushed me…then I started fighting back, he threw me into the bathroom, I hit the back of the shower wall and fell into the bathtub where he pulled me out…dragged me into the bedroom, picked me up again, threw me down on his futon that had guns sitting on it so I landed on the guns, which is why my back looks the way that it does…and then I fell from there onto the floor where he stood above me and strangled with two hands.

He told me…he should kill me and I said go ahead…Im not scared, just do it so I dont have to and when I said that you could see it in his eyes that he snapped back and then he jumped off me.

The NFL conducted its own investigations into Hardys case. Upon examining medical and police reports, expert analyses, and photographs, along with other witness testimony, the league suspended Hardy for 10 games. An arbitrator reduced Hardys suspension to four games, saying the original punishment set a disproportionate precedent.

With that, Hardy was back in the NFL and was signed by the Dallas Cowboys.